Spencer Lane Jones
@spencerlanejones.bsky.social
đ€ 64
đ„ 67
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VAP in English at the University of Iowa. Writer.
https://www.spencerljones.com/
pinned post!
Since I started teaching in 2015, I've wondered what it means to be a schoolteacher in a time of crisis. I wrote an MFA thesis about it. Two chapters of my thesis won 2nd Place in The Sewanee Review's 2025 Nonfiction Contest, and are now available to read.
thesewaneereview.com/articles/tra...
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To Traverse This Somber Age
https://thesewaneereview.com/articles/traverse-somber-age
27 days ago
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Since I started teaching in 2015, I've wondered what it means to be a schoolteacher in a time of crisis. I wrote an MFA thesis about it. Two chapters of my thesis won 2nd Place in The Sewanee Review's 2025 Nonfiction Contest, and are now available to read.
thesewaneereview.com/articles/tra...
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To Traverse This Somber Age
https://thesewaneereview.com/articles/traverse-somber-age
27 days ago
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I'm concerned about certain aspects of "alternative grading" discourse. I'll be writing about those concerns over the next few weeks.
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
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Why I'm Worried About "Alternative Grading" Discourse, Pt. 1
If youâre a teacher at any level (K-12 or higher ed), youâve at least heard about, if not discussed with colleagues and/or tried to implement in your own work, âalternative gradingâ methods.
https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerlanejones/p/why-im-worried-about-alternative?r=jtdly&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
about 1 month ago
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I used to love teaching "Their Eyes Were Watching God." I got to interview
@marcusluther.bsky.social
about teaching it today. Teachers: Keep this novel alive in classrooms, and check out Marcus's *amazing* teaching resources in this interview.
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
about 2 months ago
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I learned a lot about balancing writing and teaching over the past four years. Here are my top 3 tips.
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
about 2 months ago
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can we get a new rap with nani in gracie mansion though
5 months ago
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The
@weilsociety.bsky.social
is hosting its annual colloquy at Texas A&M in April '26, as well as an online conference. This group was invaluable for me during my MFA program and thesis-writing process as I read work by and about Simone Weil. Register, and as Weil would say, attend.
6 months ago
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I really enjoyed this interview with Adam Current! A Mango-Shaped Space is a fantastic novel and Adamâs new cohort of eighth graders are lucky to read it this year!
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
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The Book Talks, Vol. 6
Middle School Teacher Adam Current on Wendy Mass's A Mango-Shaped Space (2003)
https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerlanejones/p/the-book-talks-vol-6?r=jtdly&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
8 months ago
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My MFA program, the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa, is hiring a new Director. Check it out.
www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...
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Assoc or Full Professor, MFA Program Director - HigherEdJobs
Jobs in higher education. Faculty and administrative positions at colleges and universities. Updated daily. Free to job seekers.
https://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=179200822&utm_source=07_31_25&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JobAgentEmail
8 months ago
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Iâm a proponent of teaching lots of classics *and* lots of contemporary literature to high school students. In case youâre looking for some contemporary (or at least mid-late 20th century) additions to your high school curriculum, check out this list!
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
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The Top 10 Books I Read in My MFA Program That I'd Teach to High School Students
And a couple of honorable mentions...
https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerlanejones/p/the-top-10-books-i-read-in-my-mfa?r=jtdly&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
9 months ago
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I finished my MFA! Quite excited about spending a *fourth* year at the University of Iowa as a Visiting Assistant Professor of English! I'll be teaching Introduction to Rhetoric and Advanced Nonfiction Writing to English majors! Looking forward to Year 11!
10 months ago
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I wrote an academic paper about the Trojan Horse Affair's fantastic model of journalism. It's out now in Radio Journal. More journalists should take notes from
@brihreed.bsky.social
and Hamza Syed.
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
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Transgressive (un)scripting: Metajournalistic discourse and âsonic friendshipâ in The Trojan Horse Affair | Intellect
This article analyses metajournalistic discourse between a âcore actorâ and a novice reporter in The Trojan Horse Affair, a 2022 podcast from Serial Productions and the New York Times about a faked co...
https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/rjao_00111_1
11 months ago
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What are the best book stores in Salt Lake City?
11 months ago
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Extremely grateful to be recognized in this way by
@weilsociety.bsky.social
, especially after writing about Weil as a schoolteacher for the past three years. Thank you so much!
11 months ago
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âTragedy implies more optimism in its author than does comedyâŠits final result ought to be the reinforcement of the onlookerâs brightest opinions of the human animal...it is curious, although edifying, that the plays we revere, century after century, are the tragedies.â The Book Talks, Vol. 4.
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The Book Talks, Vol. 4
High School Teacher Mark Sibley-Jones on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949)
https://spencerlanejones.substack.com/p/the-book-talks-vol-4
11 months ago
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Loved this interview with
@anniesand.bsky.social
, on Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." The Book Talks, Vol. 3 on Substack now.
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The Book Talks, Vol. 3
University of Iowa Associate Professor of Rhetoric Annie Sand on Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" (1959)
https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerlanejones/p/the-book-talks-vol-3?r=jtdly&selection=3e32e245-9001-4d5e-8169-4c38f1a0682a&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web
about 1 year ago
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"I get the sense from both sides of the political spectrum that I should perhaps be keeping my head down and teaching a "safe" class...Many parents would rather their children be credentialed than educated today." Read my interview with Peter Shull now, on teaching Morrison's "Song of Solomon."
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The Book Talks, Vol. 2
High School Teacher Peter Shull on Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon (1977)
https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerlanejones/p/the-book-talks-vol-2?r=jtdly&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
about 1 year ago
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Told my boyfriend about my Lent challenge for this year (not wearing headphones except for in the gym) and he got sassy
about 1 year ago
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Check out The Book Talks, Vol. 1: My interview with 5th grade teacher Adrian Neibauer on teaching the 1975 children's classic, "Tuck Everlasting."
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
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The Book Talks, Vol. 1
5th Grade Teacher Adrian Neibauer on Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting (1975)
https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerlanejones/p/the-book-talks-vol-1?r=jtdly&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
about 1 year ago
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My dad gets really confused by the term "creative nonfiction" and his brain trips it to "non-creative fiction"
about 1 year ago
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Just going to throw out that "I don't want to" in response to "encouragement" to "synthesize AI use into your classroom and pedagogy" is a perfectly fine response
about 1 year ago
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Honored to be featured this week on University of Iowa's 5Q interview series!
writinguniversity.org/news-archive...
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5Q Interview: Spencer Lane Jones, an MFA candidate in the Nonfiction Writing Program
"I became an early bird writer because I had to be, and it hasn't really left my body."
https://writinguniversity.org/news-archive/2025/02/5q-interview-spencer-lane-jones-mfa-candidate-nonfiction-writing-program
about 1 year ago
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I disagree with a lot of this but it makes compelling points near the end. Makes for a powerful rebuttal to the Postman, Carr, and now Hayes claims. Worth a read (and a teach if you have anything related on your syllabus).
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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What if the Attention Crisis Is All a Distraction?
From the pianoforte to the smartphone, each wave of tech has sparked fears of brain rot. But the problem isnât our ability to focusâitâs what weâre focussing on.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/01/27/the-sirens-call-chris-hayes-book-review
about 1 year ago
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In case anyone was interested in Simone Weilâs thoughts on how to do the next four years
about 1 year ago
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On sabbatical this semester. To stay connected with fellow educators and celebrate their work, I am launching "The Book Talks," an interview series in which I will talk to teachers about their favorite books to teach. Join me!
open.substack.com/pub/spencerl...
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Why Schools Should Assign Books
In the Schoolhouse, Vol. 9
https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerlanejones/p/why-schools-should-assign-books?r=jtdly&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
about 1 year ago
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Iâm thrilled to share that part of my MFA thesis was selected by John Jeremiah Sullivan as the runner-up essay in the 2024 nonfiction contest @ The Sewanee Review!
thesewaneereview.com/contest
about 1 year ago
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Greeting a cold, cold America again today. Thanks for the weekend, PR.
about 1 year ago
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